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 Assisted home ownership
 Auckland Art Gallery development
 Auckland's CBD Into the future
 Auckland's CBD waterfront
 Auckland's future
 Britomart project
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 Disability innovations
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 Eden Park redevelopment
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 Glenside South Reserve concept plan
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 Herne Bay beach reserve upgrades
 Karangahape Road streetscape upgrade
 Keith Hay Park
 Kingsland transport improvements
 Kupe North Reserve
 Lumsden Green improvements
 Margaret Griffen Park upgrade
 Matiatia land development
 Mayoral Task Force on Sustainable Development
 Monte Cecilia Park
 Motions Creek stormwater upgrade
 Mt Albert rail station precinct upgrade
 Mt Roskill skate park
 Mutukaroa-Hamlins Hill concept plan
 Newmarket cross-street banner trial
 One Tree Hill summit project
 Onehunga Bay
 Onetangi Beach protection
 Orakei Basin sluice gates project
 Otahuhu community and recreation facilities
 Our Future Auckland
 Owairaka Avenue reserve development
 Panmure Basin recreation area
 Pedestrian orientation signage network - CBD
 Project PROBE
 Projects - completed
 Rosebank business development community
 Seaside Park landfill rehabilitation
 Shore Road Reserve
 St Heliers Beach upgrade
 Statue of Sir Dove-Myer Robinson
 Stronger Auckland
 Sylvia Park
 Talbot Park reserves
 Tamaki Edge initiative
 TelstraClear Auckland network rollout
 The Landing
 Transport projects - completed
 Transport projects - Current road works
 Transport projects - major
 Tree removal projects
 Underwood and Walmsley Parks improvements
 Vector Arena
 Waiheke Island library, service centre and Artworks project
 Waiheke Island resource recovery park
Projects


Britomart project

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The Britomart project, 1999-2001

Change of council | Public consultation | Design competition | Project priorities | Public support | Station resource consent | Utility preparation | A dangerous area | Demolition | Funding Britomart

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TopChange of council

Auckland City reluctantly committed $125 million to the transport centre, but developer Jihong Lu missed contractual deadlines and another project was cancelled.

A new council was elected in October 1998 who resolved to rethink the 1995 project. The new mayor Christine Fletcher promised to 'open the books' on Britomart. In 1999 there was a recommendation to proceed after public consultation.


TopPublic consultation

In 1999 Auckland City adopted a basic principle, which was that the future of the site be determined with the help of its owners - the Auckland public.

Several consultation exercises were held, seeking people's views on features that they would like to see in the waterfront area. The ideas expressed in the surveys ranged from safe, clean and comfortable public spaces to easy access to the waterfront for recreation. These suggestions were incorporated in earlier projects, most notably the Viaduct Harbour redevelopment.

Feedback forms allowed the public to agree or disagree with what Auckland City wanted to achieve on the Britomart site and provide comments on a range of issues.

The surveys showed strong support for starting a rail service to Queen St as soon as possible, buses operating on surface and not underground, and the preservation of the heritage buildings.

The consultation process was used to create a set of principles that guided the Britomart development:

  • a transport interchange for Auckland including bus, ferry and rail services
  • a gateway to the CBD and the waterfront
  • people coming and going 24 hours a day
  • a safe, welcoming place for people
  • exciting and vibrant public spaces
  • enhancement of the downtown waterfront to open up the city to the sea
  • extending the Viaduct Harbour success story.

The project changed its name from Britomart to the Waitemata Waterfront development.


TopDesign competition

Using these principles, Auckland City embarked on a two stage design competition to make the best use of the Britomart site - with the former CPO playing a major part in the development.

Stage one ran from 5 April 2000 to 26 May 2000. Stage one was an open competition with a wide brief to draw out as many ideas and as much innovation as possible. Of the 153 competition entries received, the judging panel gave a total of 30 awards. The judging panel selected seven major prize winners, with each winning entry receiving a $10,000 prize.

The seven major winners were:

  1. Creative Spaces/Cox Richardson Architects
  2. Denton Corker Marshall Architects with Stephen Brown Landscape Architects
  3. Crosson Clarke Architects, Andrew Scott Cotton Architects in association with Designgroup Consortium Ltd, Ted Smythe, Landscape Architects, Rod Barnett, Duscho Bogonovich and Dianne Brand
  4. Aaron Sills and Wayne Lees
  5. Leuschke Group Architects and LA4
  6. Architects Patterson with Leo Jew, John Betts and Chris Van Tonder
  7. Mario Madayag with Jasmax, OMA/AMO Rem Koolhaas, Peter Walker and Partners.

Ideas produced in this stage were then debated and incorporated into stage two. Stage two was a developed design phase to produce achievable solutions for the Britomart area. The seven design finalists competed in this stage with a detailed brief including how to incorporate light rail into the design. Stage two ran from 31 July 2000 to 6 October 2000.

Design competition winner Mario Madayag with Mayor Christine Fletcher.The winner was announced in early November 2000 as Mario Madayag in partnership with Jasmax Architects. Jasmax Architects worked on the Auckland Town Hall refurbishment and designed Wellington's Te Papa Museum. Mario Madayag is a Californian architect, now living in New Zealand, who worked on the $2.5billion Santa Monica Getty Centre.

Public interest into the design made headline news not only in Auckland but also around New Zealand, with headlines in a number of regional newspapers. A very happy Mario Madayag thanked Auckland for their vote of confidence in his Britomart design.

The judging panel consisted of Professor John Hunt (The University of Auckland City), Mayor Chris Fletcher, deputy Mayor Dr Bruce Hucker, Councillor Doug Astley, Ngarimu Blair of Ngati Whatua, Ian Athfield and Clinton Bird, from the New Zealand Institute of Architects, Graeme Horsley, from the Property Council and Paul Asquith, from the Bus and Coach Association.

Artists concept drawing.The attributes of the winning design as described by the judging panel:

  • Presents a clear and powerful vision for the future development of the Britomart precinct that achieves a fine balance as a robust and vital part of the city and as a successful transport interchange.
  • Demonstrates in some detail how that vision might be translated into explicit design proposals, while offering significant flexibility to cope with future changes to project requirements. (In the words of one assessor, it offers a "library of robust ideas".)
  • Advocates a central role for the former CPO as a hub for the transport interchange and as a memorable place of arrival into the city (a "vestibule" for the city).
  • Artists concept drawing.Establishes protected pedestrian routes that link the various transport modes at ground level and below ground. Below ground linkages extend out from the CPO to Queen St, the ferry terminals and the Downtown Centre, and incorporates natural lighting features.
  • Advocates the grouping of bus stops in several locations, thereby avoiding the concentration of buses in a single location on the one hand, and the dispersal of buses on the other.
  • Advances proposals that transform Queen Elizabeth Square into a focus of transport related activity while strengthening links between Queen St and Queens Wharf, and evoking the historical significance of these linkages.
  • Advances proposals for linking the precinct with both the waterfront and the city behind, using distinctive streetscapes to achieve this objective.
  • Artists concept drawing.Responds to the distinctive heritage character of the precinct by creating open spaces from which the more significant of the heritage buildings may be fully appreciated. Proposes a combination of open spaces, streetscapes and lanes, which offer the potential for a vital and friendly pedestrian environment.
  • Proposes a scale of development that is compatible with the heritage buildings and precincts, and builds upon their qualities.
  • Proposes new building development that would invite a diversity of uses and contribute to intensive activity within the precinct.
  • Suggests an approach to incorporating Maori cultural concepts into the development in a manner that would enable these ideas to be developed in a variety of ways.
  • Offers a framework for development that is based upon strong urban ideas yet which would permit other design professionals and artists to make distinctive contributions.

A number of groups were established to provide ongoing consultation throughout the re-concepting process. This included many stakeholders such as the New Zealand Historic Places Trust and Heart of the City. They examined the above ground master plan, taking into consideration the principles set out through public consultation. The above ground  master plan focused on a range of issues such as, how the retained heritage buildings would coincide with new development, the mixed-use activities in the precinct, carparks and public spaces.

Emphasis was placed on protecting, restoring and celebrating the remaining historic buildings on the Britomart site. Underlying this built heritage are numerous Maori heritage sites whose names reflect the abundant resource of the Auckland Isthmus and the battles waged for their control. Auckland City formed a relationship with Ngati Whatua that will see these waahi tapu (sacred sites) further protected, restored and celebrated, as part of the identity of Tangata Whenua. The articulation of this heritage through the Britomart design process will ensure that all Aucklanders can identify with it.


TopProject priorities

Prior to the design competition, a basic scheme with minimal architectural enhancements was developed with a capital budget of $175 million. This capital cost was increased to $189 million to include the CPO floor and dome modifications, full access to Quay Park and additional tracks in the railway station.

The design competition added a number of architectural features to the project and the winners of the competition were appointed as the Britomart architects. The capital estimate was increased to $262 million under the revised plans. The increase in costs was controversial, with some people unhappy with the extra features and associated costs.

The Britomart plans were reviewed at a value management workshop. Outcomes of the workshop were risk assessed and a priority list was developed for discretionary expenditure and a list of design developments. Risks identified were evaluated and prioritised.

Auckland City's long term financial strategy made provision for $133 million for the Waitemata Waterfront development project. Funding applications were submitted to Infrastructure Auckland and Transfund for a total funding package of $116.5 million.

There was still a $13 million shortfall to meet the current total estimate of $262 million. This shortfall was met by deleting some items to reduce the cost. They included removing travelators, 8 escalators and dynamic lighting from the concourse, and reducing the width of the concourse to 5m.


TopPublic support

On the 28 June 2001 Auckland City issued a news release stating the findings of an independent survey of 750 residents throughout the region. The findings confirmed that 71 per cent considered traffic congestion and transportation to be the most important issues facing the city. The respondents were aware of the importance of the project as a means of solving traffic problems. Nearly 80 per cent considered the creation of a downtown hub for passenger transport to be important or extremely important, and nearly 70 per cent supported getting on with the job.


TopStation resource consent

On 22 July 2000, Auckland City publicly notified an application to Auckland Regional Council for resource consent to allow construction of the underground railway station. The application was submitted early to allow ample time for the consent process. This ran parallel to the design competition for the Waitemata Waterfront Development. The resource consent application was for the de-watering and landuse sediment control during construction.

The particular issues that were identified included:

  • traffic effects
  • noise and vibration effects
  • groundwater and structural effects
  • sediment control
  • dust effect
  • site security
  • interruption to services.

There were a total of 19 submissions received in response to the application. Twelve submissions opposed or did not indicate whether they supported or opposed the application, four conditionally supported the application, and three submissions supported the application.

A hearing was held to consider the resource consent application, and the application was approved on 1 December 2000. The resource consent required Auckland City to have ongoing consultation with neighbours.


TopUtility preparation

Utilities had to be relocated to allow for construction during the Britomart Project.

Completion of a $4 million stormwater project was a major step in preparation for the future development of the waterfront area, including the transport interchange. New stormwater drains, with some sections up to 4.5m in width, were installed on a route that runs 385m along Quay St, Britomart Pl and Customs St East, connecting to the outlet beneath Captain Cook Wharf. The stormwater project was completed on time and under budget.

Other services on the Britomart site such as gas services, the 11kV cable and telecommunications had to be relocated as they conflicted with the Britomart excavation.


TopA dangerous area

The Britomart area was regarded as an unruly, ugly and unsafe area. On 26 January 2001 a 23 year old man was brutally beaten with a piece of timber near the corner of Gore St and Quay St, he later died. Only a few days earlier a woman was gang-raped in Tyler St, behind the old CPO.


TopDemolition

Three buildings were demolished on the Britomart site to prepare for construction of the new railway station.

Demolition of the CPO Annexe.In February 2001 the reinforced CPO Annexe attached to the back of the old CPO was demolished. An existing resource consent for the demolition was due to expire on 22 March 2001. In order to utilise the consent, the demolition was approved on 8 February 2001, with works completed by May 2001. The contract was awarded to Burrell demolition for $500,000 and most of the materials, including the concrete and steel reinforcing were recycled.

Fortunately when the art deco style CPO Annexe was constructed in 1937, a gap was created between the CPO which preserved the eastern fa�ade. During demolition three stray letters were found in the gap between the buildings. Once the CPO Annexe demolition works were complete the site was used as a temporary carpark. 

Demolition of the Britomart bus terminal.The contract to demolish the Britomart bus terminal and car park was awarded to Ward Demolition for $404,000 on 30 March 2001. The concrete, steel, kauri and oregon timber from the site were recycled. The concrete was broken down and reused for driveways, footpaths, carparks and under-floor slabs. The car park demolition work was completed in October 2001 and the site was prepared for the construction of the underground station.

The Britomart carpark was in poor structural condition and would have required major works if it had not been demolished. Maintenance in the year leading up to its demolition cost $33,000 and it was estimated to need a further $20,000 per month to keep it in a safe condition.

Buses that carried nearly 10,000 peak period passengers from the Britomart bus terminal were moved from the old Britomart bus terminal site to various inner-city streets on the 17 June 2001. The relocation of the buses involved establishing new bus stops, providing the necessary infrastructure (shelters, seats, rubbish bins, information signs), traffic engineering and a comprehensive communications program.


TopFunding Britomart

Auckland City approved the detailed design and budget for the Waitemata Waterfront development. At a special council meeting a maximum capital expenditure of $249.3 million was agreed for the project. Auckland City's contribution was set at $133 million, as agreed to before the design competition.

The Transfund board decided to contribute a $10 million capital grant and $10 million for patronage. Government policy constrained Transfund to contribute both capital and operational costs, so it was agreed that $10 million would be deducted from what it would pay for improved patronage for the regional passenger transport network.

Land Information New Zealand, a government department responsible for the statutory decisions for the acquisition and disposal of Crown property contributed $1.8 million towards the rail infrastructure.

Auckland Regional Council contributed $1.9 million towards high quality amenities on street level.

Infrastructure Auckland (IA) resolved to grant $45 million towards the Britomart project with a number of terms and conditions. This figure was less than the $90 million Auckland City had sought from IA. IA based its figures for the station on the projected passengers per hour during peak times. IA chairman John Robertson explained the Britomart money came from three components, rail tracks $11.48 million, rail signage $4.44 million, and station $29.05 million.

After years of debate the council voted unanimously to go ahead with the project. The funding short fall meant that the design adopted by council was scaled back with the elimination of the full underground walkway and less streetscape improvements.

The funders of the $204 million Britomart project:

Auckland City $135.7 million
Infrastructure Auckland $45 million
Transfund New Zealand $20 million
Auckland Regional Council $1.9 million
Land Information New Zealand $1.8 million
Total $204.4 million
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